Never Apart
by Jess.91
Summary: Sequel to Never Alone. Sometimes, love is so strong, nothing can tear it apart ... PiperLeo
1. Gone

And here it is, the sequel to Never Alone! Yay! OK, this is a bit different to the first one (well a lot different, I mean it's a different story) but yeah, I hope you guys will all like it and read it and review it n stuff. Here goes:

**Never Apart**

Chapter 1 - Gone

Summary: Sometimes, love is so strong, nothing can tear it apart ...

**One year after Never Alone.**

"Eleven o' clock?" Piper said, leaning against the door.

"Yep. Eleven o' clock." Leo nodded.

"Right."

"Right."

"You're gonna be here early, aren't you?" Piper asked. Leo nodded.

"Probably." The beep-beep of a car horn made him turn around, and he waved at the car parked outside - his mother. "I gotta go." He said, leaning in for a quick kiss, that wasn't so quick.

"OK - bye -" Piper murmured, finally breaking away.

"See you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too."

Smiling as she leaned again the closed door, Piper gave little sigh.

"Oh, that's so sweet." Prue commented as she walked into the hall.

"What is?"

"You and Leo. You've been going our for a year now, and the two of you are still in the whole sighing stage. So where are you going tomorrow?"

"Usual." Piper smiled. "McDonalds and a movie." Just like they always did, right?

True to their word, they were still best friends. Still their for each other. She'd supported him when his grandfather had died, he'd supported her after she and her sister found out they were witches - the legendary Charmed Ones. Nothing could tear them apart. Ever.

----

"Piper!" Paige's high pitched, scared voice alerted Piper to the demon in the downstairs hallway.

"Since when do demon's attack this early on a morning?" Prue grumbled as the two of them ran down the stairs, Piper ready to freeze. It wasn't actually that early - a half past ten - But Piper could have done without this attack - Leo would be here any minute.

She froze the demon seconds before it's fireball would have hit Phoebe.

"What do we do?" Piper asked. She still wasn't used to this whole on-the-spot demon fighting thing, didn't like being unprepared.

"Book." Paige muttered, and the heavy book of shadows orbed into her outstretched hands. Before the demon could be found, before the book could even be opened, there was a short knock at the door and Leo walked in.

"Hiya." He said brightly, then caught sight of the four worried faces and the frozen demon. "Oh - bad time?"

"Yeah! Get out!" Piper's voice got suddenly louder as the demon started to unfreeze. Leo started to back out of the door, but he stopped as the demon launched a fireball at Piper. Concentrating on Leo, she hadn't even noticed it ...

It all happened so quickly - he threw himself forward, knocking her out of the way, and instead ...

Someone was screaming, so loudly Piper felt her head would explode. Then she realised, it was her.

Laid on the floor, suddenly unable to move, she could only watch as a fireball hit him, the force of it sending him flying against the wall. She could only scream as he slumped to the floor, suddenly too pale, his eyes closed ...

And a sudden, sharp jolt shot through her, pain like she'd never experienced, a sudden burst of - of _love _... and then all was still and she felt empty.

"Leo!" She heard Paige yell, but not clearly - it sounded almost like water was rushing through her ears. As the demon shimmered out, she threw herself onto the floor next to him, screaming for someone to help her. Prue was yelling for Grams, but Piper _knew. _It was too late, it was all too late. He was gone, she'd felt it, she felt him leave the earth, she'd felt him leave her.

He was gone.

Leo was ... dead.

* * *

**Don't hate me! I hate myself for doing it lol, how sad it that? Anyway, why don't you review and let me know what you think?**


	2. Without You

Wow, thanks for all the reviews I got. Well, here's the second chapter, don't forget to let me know what you think ...

Chapter 2 - Without You

Piper just stared at it, even though she could really make out what it said, her vision was so blurred by her own tears. She knew, however, word for word what it said, the words would stick in her mind forever.

_Leo Wyatt, aged 16. Taken too soon, rest in peace. _

She felt arms around her shoulders, some one pulling her away from his gravestone. Maybe whoever it was knew how much she wanted to throw herself into the hole with him.

And then she was home, curled up on the sofa, staring at the wall. It was almost three days since the funeral, a weeks since his death. And she kept seeing both events over and over and over. She hadn't slept. She hadn't eaten. She hadn't done anything other than cry. She _couldn't _do anything else.

How could she _live _when he was gone?

How could she _feel _without him to love?

How could she keep on breathing, how come the weight of her own pain didn't just crush her?

"Here." Prue was forcing another hot cup of something towards her. Every surface in the house must be littered with cups of various teas, coffee, hot chocolate. Anything her sister's or grams could think off. But it wasn't going to help, was it? It wouldn't bring him back, nothing would. He was gone.

And it was all her fault.

It made it worse, so much worse, knowing that he'd died saving her. If she had been a better witch, everything would be OK, he'd still be here ...

Plus the demon was still out there, still alive while Leo ...

Putting the cup on the coffee table in front of her, Piper got to her feet and dragged herself up to her room. She couldn't stay in the same room as them for long - she could sense Prue getting ready to talk to her, to try and make her talk. But she couldn't speak.

As far as she was concerned, the day Leo had died, so had she.

----

He was floating. It was strange, he'd never felt so light and free. And yet at the same time in the back of his mind was that thought. _Piper._

"Do you want to join us?" He didn't know where the man had come from, but he was dressed in golden robes and was smiling.

"Wh-what?"

"Join us, help people." A woman was talking to him now. More people we appearing.

"Help - people?"

"Yes. Become a whitelighter ... help people ..."

He was dead, he knew that. It hadn't taken him long to figure it out, not when an "angel of death" had led him through a big, gaping hole.

But if in death, he could help people, then wasn't that the right thing to do? What he wanted to do?

"Yes." He whispered.

----

"Leo, I need you." Piper sobbed. Sat on her bed, staring at the wall, she knew there was no way he could hear her. And yet ...

_"Piper, I know it sounds scary, but it's perfect for you. Helping people? You are such a good person, it's what you're meant to do." Leo said. It was hard to be freaked out about the whole magic thing when he was so calm._

_"Leo, demon's are coming after us all the time. Demons and warlocks and god knows what else. They want to kill us. And ... and ... what if something happens to you?" Piper looked up at him, her brown eyes shining with fear. _

_"Niether of us are going anywhere." He said firmly. "We are both going to stay alive, stay together, always. One day we'll get married, and have kids and grow old together, OK? You have to believe that. I'll never leave you. Nothing, not even death, could keep us apart, remember that, OK? I promsie, I will always be here."_

_"You promise?" She murmered._

_"Yes. I promise."_

Rooting through her drawer, she found a pad of paper and a pen, and started scribbling furiously, suddenly able to think clearly, stop crying. Was it stupid to right a letter to a dead person?

She didn't think so, she had to do it. She had to let him know how she was feeling, she knew he'd find it, he wouldn't really leave her, he'd promised. And he'd never broken any promsie to her, ever. She could trust him.

Finally done, she sat back, gave a dry cough, and read what she had written.

_Leo,_

_I know you are reading this, somehow. I know you wouldn't leave me. They keep telling me you're gone, forever. But you have to come back, I know you will. Without you, I don't make sense, I'm not me, I'm not whole. It's like a part of me is gone, with you went half of my life, my past, my soul, and my entire future. They keep saying that the pain will fade, that I'll feel better, it will all be better. How can it? This is different, this is you and me._

_I know that somehow, you will come back to me. I know it's my fault you're dead, and words cannot describe how much I hate myself for it. I am so sorry. But nothing, not even death, can keep us apart. You told me that. You promised. And one day soon, I promise you, we will be together again - You taught me never to give up and I never will. Love, magic, or both, will bring you back to me. _

_With all my heart I love you, I always have and I always will._

_Always, Piper xxx_


	3. Connection

OK I just need to quickly warn everyone that I've changed my penname. It's now Jess.91. I don't know what this will mean for anyone who has me or my stories on their favorites or alerts, but I figured I'd just let you all know.

Chapter 3 - Connected

One week later.

Orbing back into the heavens, Leo felt exhilarated. He was a whitelighter, a guardian angel to witches and future whitelighters, his job was to protect and guide, and he loved everything about it ... except ...

Sometimes, he kept seeing a face, a woman's face, and he felt she needed him, he should go to her ... The elders told him it was probably someone from when he was alive, but he could only remember what he needed to, which is why he didn't know who she was. And yet ...

A faint jingling interrupted his thoughts, and he paused, unsure where to go. A new charge. He already had four - two witches, nothing powerful, just practitioners, and two future whitelighters. He was one of the youngest whitelighters in existence, which made him feel he had more to prove.

But he knew someone was calling for him, and he didn't know where. Finally, he started walking, looking for an elder to help him. He passed several of them, however, knowing that they regarded him too young for the job - he didn't want to prove this. Instead, he walked up to an elder he felt he could trust.

"Zola?"

"Yes, Leo? Need some help?"

Self-consciously, Leo explained him little problem, and breathed with relief when Zola smiled.

"Don't worry, Leo, you were right, this is a new charge. Sometimes, the connection is auto-matic, and it needs a little time to form properly. Just follow your instincts."

"Bu -"

"Zola!" Another elder interrupted loudly, walking briskly over. "Ah, I've been looking for you everywhere." He said, ignoring Leo. "I need a word with you ..."

As the fait jingle from his new charge started again, Leo orbed out.

He found himself in a bedroom, and he jumped, hoping no one could see him. It was dark, he knew it was late, and the last thing he wanted was to scare his new charge.

It was a few minutes before he saw her - a girl around his age, her long dark hair spread about the pillow, her sleeping face stained with tears. And he _remembered_.

"Piper." He breathed, feeling a sudden burst of love. How could he have forgotten her, how could he not have remembered Piper? He had died, saving her ... why hadn't he remembered, why hadn't anyone mentioned it?

And then ...

_She's a witch_. Could he be her whitelighter?

He was about to orb out, ask the elders, when he saw the envelope on the floor, his name scrawled on it. He picked it up, opened it with shaking fingers. She'd written to him, even though he was dead. And, reading the words, he knew she still loved him, more than he had known. And she still believed they could be together ... And maybe they could ...

----

The sunlight woke Piper, and she felt strangely calmer than before. She didn't have that glorious minute everyone else talks about, where you wake up and don't remember you're loss. No, she woke up with the heavy weight of pain, the loss fresh in her mind before she even remembered who she was.

She jumped up instantly, dressing quickly. She'd been thinking the night before, right after addressing an envelope to Leo. She needed to see his mother. Piper wasn't the only one who had lost him, and Mrs. Wyatt deserved to know the truth. A single parent - Leo's dad had died before he was born - Leo was her only child, her life.

And because of Piper, that had been snatched away.

"Piper." Leo's mother said, opening the door with a surprised look on her face. "It's early. Wh -?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you." Piper said softly. "I need to tell you something, Mrs. Wyatt, it's important."

"Mrs ... Piper, since when have you called me 'Mrs. Wyatt'? You've always called me Ally."

"I ... after what I tell you, I don't think you'll want me to speak to you ever again." Piper said, as the two of them walked into the small, tidy living room.

"What? Piper, you're scaring me."

"I ... I need you to promise me that what I tell you ... you wont tell anyone." Piper said slowly.

"Yes ... Of course."

Piper launched into a basic version of magic, demons, and what she and her sisters did.

"I'm telling you this because ... because the day - on that day ..." Piper couldn't tears pricking at her eyes. "A demon attacked us, my sisters and me, and Leo ... Leo came over. I tried to - to make him leave, and he was, he was getting out, he knew what to do, I made him practice so he wouldn't get hurt, but - but the demon threw a fireball at me, and I wasn't - wasn't looking, I didn't even see it, and Leo saved me, he pushed me out of the way, and it got him instead." She was sobbing so much she wasn't sure Leo's mother could even understand her.

"So you - you see, it's all my fault. Leo died because of - of me."

"Piper." Mrs. Wyatt breathed. "It's OK. I don't blame you, and I know Leo doesn't."

"Why, why couldn't it have been me who died?" Piper sobbed. "It was nothing to do with him, it wasn't his fight, why didn't he just leave me ..."

"Piper, don't you get it? Leo loved you, with all his heart. He gave his life for you, and I'm sure he'd do it again if he had to."

Piper didn't know what to say, what to do.

"He ... I'll bring him back." She promised. "I swear, somehow I'll bring him back ..." Mrs. Wyatt didn't believe her, it was obvious, but as the two of them held each other, crying all over each other, Pipr knew she sensed some kind of hope in the older woman.


	4. Charges

Chapter 4 - Charges

"This was not ... supposed to happen." Zola said nervously. "No one knew this was going to happen ..."

"But it did, it has to be ... fate, or something ..." Leo replied.

"Leo, she is still greiving. To return to her so soon ... she needs to accept you have gone."

"But I haven't. We can still be together -"

"Leo, you know how we feel about that ..."

"And you know that the rule doesn't exist anymore. You allowed it after Paige -"

"It is still discouraged ... you are the youngest whitelighter to exist in well over three thousand years ... many do not think you are up to it, and having a relationship with a charge - and a Charmed One no less - would not count in your favor. Many of my kind are still set in the old ways, and ..."

"I love her." Leo said simply. "I gave up my life to save her, and I ... I love being a whitelighter, you know I do, but I will give it up too if I have to."

Zola sighed. "I know you would. Leo, I know I cannot discourage you ... but I warn you to be careful. Do not let your ... feelings for this witch cloud your judgement as a whitelighter. Or there will be hell to pay." Zola added weirily.

"She's calling again." Leo said absently. "Can I ... can I go to her?"

"Yes." Zola sighed. "Go." As Leo orbed out, Zola rubbed his head. "I really am too old for all of this." He murmured, then wondered away.

----

Leo wasn't sure how to approach Piper, but he was in the manor before he could think about it. She was sat on one of the sofas, staring blankly at the wall.

He walked slowly forward, and whispered her name. She looked at him, blinked several times, then screamed.

Prue came rushing into the room, looked at Leo in shock, then used her power to send him into the wall.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "Who are you!"

"It's me, it's Leo!" He yelled. Had they forgotten him?

"Nice try. You demon's make me sick, you know that?" Prue snarled. "Who are you? Who sent you -?"

"Prue." Piper siad softly, walking slowly over to them, watched curiously by Phoebe and Paige. "Prue, stop." Piper walked right up to him, stood infront of him for a long, long time, just staring into his eyes. Then she leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Piper! Are you crazy!" Prue yelled, but Piper didn't flinch, holding onto Leo for dear life, assuring herself he was real, that she wasn't dreaming. Finally, she drew back, and turned to face her sisters, gripping his hand so hard it hurt, but he understood her desperate need to keep hold of him.

"I'm not crazy, Prue." Piper replied. "It's really him."

"Oh yeah?" Prue scoffed.

"Yes."

"How did you know?" Leo murmured, and Piper smiled at him.

"Your eyes. I saw it in your eyes."

"OK, if you're really Leo, explain how you are stood here in our house, when we saw you die a few weeks ago." Prue demanded.

"I became a whitelighter when I died." Leo replied. They all knew what a whitelighter was - Paige's father was one and Grams had explained. But he had to tell them exactly what had happened to him over the last few weeks.

"So we can still be together?" Piper asked once he'd finished.

"Well ... they're not happy about it, but they can't stop us - that rule was throw out when Paige was born. But ... one step wrong and I'll be taken away ..."

"Well, we'll just have to be careful." Piper replied. "All that matters is that you're back." She whispered.

----

"This is impossable." An angry looking elder by the name of Odin snapped. "He is just a kid, he cannot handle the responsability of the charmed ones. Add to that his feelings for the witch, and, well, there's no chance."

"We need to trust Leo." Zola replied. "I am sure he can handle this -"

"And, you know of the prophecy." A female elder interrupted. "That the second oldest Charmed One will bear three twice-blessed children."

"So?" The elder snapped.

"So Leo could be the key to that, the father."

"We should at least give them a chance." Another elder agreed. "We owe it to them."

"Agreed."

"Yes."

"So be it."

----

"I need to go." Leo said suddenly, looking, for some reason, towards the ceiling.

"Go where?" Piper said, unable to to keep the note of panic from her voice.

"Shh, it's OK, I'll be back, I promise. The elders need to talk to me, that's all." He kissed Piper goodbye, and orbed out.

"He never left that quick for him mum." Paige commented.

"His mum!" Piper gasped suddenly. "I - I promised her I'd get him back - do you think he's allowed to see her?"

"You'll have to ask him." Prue shrugged.

----

"Wh-what is it?" Leo asked nervously once he'd orbed up there. He wasn't used to seeing this many elders gathered around him.

"We just wanted to assure you that you have you're chance with Piper." Zola said warmly.

"But one chance and one chance only." Odin said. "You have been warned."

As another charge started calling for him, Leo made his excuses and orbed out.


	5. A Little Test Along The Way

Hey guys, thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. Quickly just one thing, as you know on the last chapter one of the elders mentioned a prophecy and said the second youngest charmed one. I'm sure you all knew that was just a type-o but I thought I'd mention it anyway, althought I've gone back and changed it.

Chapter 5 - A Little Test Along The Way

Piper finished brushing her air and set the brush down on her dressing table. She looked at her reflection, taking in the pale skin, dark circles around her eyes and her hair, which she'd neglected over the last few weeks. She knew Leo didn't mind ... heck, he had seen her at her worse, several times. He'd seen her after disastrous haircuts, with awful clothes her grandmother had proclaimed "cute", and he'd seen her cry more times than she could count. And yet he'd stuck around.

"Piper?" Prue knocked lightly on the door. "Leo's downstairs."

"Right. Good." Piper murmured. She needed to talk to him anyways.

Once downstairs, she cut right to it. "You need to visit your mum."

"Huh?" Obviously it wasn't the greeting he'd expected from his girlfriend, but she'd been thinking about it alot. She hadn't missed the hope in Mrs. Wyatt's eyes, and she was determined to keep her promise.

"I went to see her, and I told her about magic and how you really died and I promised her I'd get you back. You need to go see her." Piper said briskly.

"Piper, I _can't_. I'm not allowed. It's against the rules."

"Leo, I promised her -"

"Piper, I'd love to see her, but if I do, they might take me away." He said. "From you." He added for good measure. He wanted to see her, of course he did, and it was driving him mad, the thought of her alone in that big house.

"But ... Leo, can't you go just the once? Surely they'll understand ...?"

"Nope. They're not really an understanding species." Leo said.

"Well ... can I ... at least tell her? That you're OK, that you're not really dead?"

"I am really dead." Leo said, shaking his head.

"Yes, but you're not _dead _..." Piper trailed off, aware she wasn't making any sense. Prue, Phoebe and Paige watched with interest.

"Leo, couldn't you go to your mum on a night?" Paige suggested. "Wake her up and talk to her. She'll probably think it's a dream."

"I ... I don't know." Leo muttered, thinking carefully. Only a nine-year-old could come up with such a simple, yet brilliant, plan. "I guess I could ... She would know it was me, but ... I could try it, I guess." He shrugged. "If it makes you feel better." He added gently to Piper. He knew she still blamed herself for things being this way.

"It does." Piper nodded. "Thank you."

"OK team, we got work to do." Prue said breezily. "Demons to vanquish, warlocks to destroy, innocents to save ..."

"Just another day." Paige said happily.

----

"See? They are doing fine." Zola beamed. "The sisters are vanquishing demons, Leo is doing better and better ..."

"They haven't had much of a challenge, though, have they?" Odin replied. "Not had any tests ..."

"What do you mean?" Zola asked nervously.

"We need to make sure neither party will be ... distracted." Odin said quietly. Zola frowned as Odin started to talk. This was not good news, he was sure.

----

"Demon nil, witches three." Phoebe said as the four teenagers orbed back into the manor.

"The Elders can't take Leo away now." Piper said firmly. "We're saving more innocents than ever."

"We know. Quit worrying." Prue replied.

"I can't. It's what I do." Piper said, then breathed with relief as Leo orbed in.

"Hiya. How'd it go?"

"Demon down, innocent safe." Prue reported.

"And your charge?" Piper quizzed

"She just needed some information." Leo shrugged. "Everything's fine -" He was cut of by a loud bang - unseen by any of them, a demon had shimmered into the attic, and thrown a fireball in their direction. It had missed, crashing into a sofa, and each of them sprang into action. Their powers weren't very affective on him, however - Piper's freeze lasted just a few seconds, and Prue was only able to move him a few feet.

"Uh-oh." Paige murmured.

"That's right, uh-oh." Phoebe muttered, and sprang forward, levitating into the air and starting to kick the demon.

_Leo ... Leo ... Leo! _

Bewildered, Leo looked around him, then realised one of his other charges was calling.

_Leo! He's going to kill me!_

"Piper! I need to - A charge -"

_Leo!_

Just as Leo was about to orb out, the demon grabbed Phoebe's ankle and threw her into a wall, then sent a fireball towards Piper. His other charge forgotten, Leo jumped forward, pushing Piper out of the way, just like he had before. The demon shimmered out, for no apparent reason, leaving behind a wreaked attic, dazed Phoebe and Piper and Leo lying on the floor.

"Are you OK?" Leo asked Piper breathlessly.

"Yeah ... Leo, you did it again." She said softly, reaching up to touch his face.

"Did what?"

"You saved my life. Only ... this time it didn't cost you yours." She smiled. "Your mum was right. She said you'd do it again if you had to, but ..."

"Of course I did it again. I love you." I replied.

"I love you too." Piper murmured. Prue cleared her throat, interrupting the moment. And then ...

_LEO!_

Leo swore loudly, a panicked look on his face. "Charge." He mumbled, then orbed out.

----

He orbed into a small tidy bungalow ... at least he remembered it tidy. The whole place was a mess now, and right by an overturned sofa was ...

"Miranda." Leo gasped, falling to his knees by the 30-something witch, who was bleeding heavily from a large hole in her abdomen. He held his hands over her, and a golden light illuminated his hands and Miranda's wound. Gasping and coughing, she came round.

"Leo ..." She mumbled.

"I'm here." He whispered. She'd nearly died, he'd nearly let her die.

"Why didn't you help ..." She mumbled groggily. "Why didn't you come ..."

----

"He nearly let her die." Odin said sourly. "I warned you ... and we warned him ..."


	6. Taken Away

Chapter 6 - Taken Away

"He's been gone a while" Piper said, looking at first he watch, then the clock on the mantle.

"Ten minutes." Prue corrected. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Prue, what if he's not? What if something happens to his charge or - or -"

"Piper, relax." Prue commanded. I'm sure he'll be back here any minute."

----

"Are you sure you're OK?" Leo asked Miranda guiltily.

"Yes. Really, you were just in time."

"I'm sorry ... another charge -"

"Don't be sorry." Miranda replied. "I understand that you have other charges other responsibilities."

"Are you definetly OK?" Leo asked again.

"Yes. Go on, I'm sure more charges need you." Miranda smiled.

"Well ... call me if you need anything." Leo muttered, knowing his words didn't mean much now.

Orbing back into the manor, Leo gave a worried Piper a weak smile.

"She's OK." He muttered. "It's OK -"

"No, it's not." Turning, Leo saw the Odin and Zola had orbed in behind him. Odin looked angry, but oddly pleased, and Zola looked upset. Leo knew instantly something was wrong.

"Who are you?" Prue yelled, jumping to her feet.

"Prue - calm down, they're elders." Leo said. Prue gave them a look that clearly said "I'm watching you" and sat down, just as Piper stood up. She moved to stand next to Leo and cling to his arm.

"What do you want?" Piper asked them.

"We've come to take Leo away." Odin said.

"What?" Leo was the first to speak, his voice scared. "Why?"

"You nearly let your charge die."

"I was helping my other charges!" Leo cried.

"They didn't need you as much as Miranda Clement did." Odin said sourly.

"We did!" Paige protested. "Piper would have died if he hadn't -"

"Quiet!" Odin shouted, and Paige jumped, startled.

"Don't shout at her!" Piper cried. "She's just a kid, how dare you yell at her like that!"

"Odin, control yourself!" Zola said, sounding just as angry as Piper. "Is it really necessary to take Leo -?"

"Yes. We will reassign the sisters, and Leo can concentrate on his other charges."

"No you wont!" Prue said angrily. "If we can't have Leo, we wont have a whitelighter!"

"You do not have a choice." Odin replied. "It is our decision to make, and the Charmed Ones need guidance and protection."

"Leo can do that." Phoebe said dismissively.

"We do not believe he can." Odin said.

"You don't." Zola mumbled.

"Leo. Come. Now." Odin commanded.

"No!" Piper said. "I will not lose him again! You cannot take him!"

Odin gave her a smile that was clearly intended to wind her up. "We can." He said then started to orb.

"Zola, please ..." Leo said, as he felt a strange pulling sensation he knew meant Odin was taking him.

"I will do what I can." Zola promised as Leo dissolved. Piper sank to her knees, a million emotions rushing through her.

"Do you mean that?" Paige asked him.

"Yes. I assure you I will do my best to bring him back." And he orbed, leaving Piper a mess.

----

Up in the heavens, Leo was faced with several elders, some he knew, some he did not.

"Please ..." He said weakly. "You can't take me away from her, I love her ..."

"That is our point." Odin said. "Your ... feelings," he said the word with great distaste, "are clouding your judgment."

"They're not! I would have done the same for any other charge, I swear -"

"Really? So how come you nearly left Ms. Clement to die?" Odin sneered.

"I ... I ..." Leo faltered. "You - you lot taught me that everything happens for a reason, that everyone and everything is part of the grand design. So doesn't that mean the Piper and her sisters becoming my charges happened for a reason, that it's part of the grand design?" The elders looked at each other, muttering with interest. "The Charmed Ones were the first charges I got automatically, that weren't assigned to me. I think that means there is a reason behind it.

"Leo, for the time being you are suspended as the charmed one's whitelighter." A female elder said. "You are to go about your other whitelighter duties until we have passed judgement on this."

Leo nodded, knowing this was the best he would get.

"You may go." Zola nodded. "But Leo ... stay away from the sisters. Don't do anything that may damage your case." He added, quieter. Leo orbed out, but with know where to go, he ended up on top of the golden gate bridge, looking out over the city. A while ago he'd promised Piper he would never leave her. And it was promise he intended to keep. No matter what.


	7. Survive Alone

Thanks to all reviewers. I want to point out this isnt a great chapter but it should be readable. 

Chapter 7 - Survive Alone

"They can't do this, they can't do this!" Piper raged. Her upset replaced by rage, she was pacing the attic angrily. 

"They can." Prue sighed. "They warned us... he should have gone to his charge."

"What? Don't you dare blame Leo for this!" Piper yelled, loudly and angrily. "It's not his fault - we're his charges too, he saved me..." She trailed off. "It's not his fault." She repeated, at a loss for anything else to say.

"I know, I know." Prue said quickly.

"So how are we going to get him back?" Piper asked.

"We're working on it." Phoebe said, form the sofa she and Paige were sat with the book of shadows.

"Prue..." Piper said slowly, turning back to her eldest sister. "What are you doing?" Prue looked up almost guiltily from the smoking pot she was throwing various things into.

"Uh... making a vanquishing potion." Prue said awkwardly.

"We can't vanquish elders." Piper said, sounding almost challenging.

"I know... it's not for the elders. It's for the demon. The one that attacked us..."

"I don't care about the demon that attacked us!" Piper yelled. "All I'm bothered about is getting Leo back!"

----

"See, I was right." Odin said. She doesn't care that there's a demon out there that will come back after them."

"Only because you took me away!" Leo burst out. Odin shot him a sharp look, Zola a pleading one. Both meant the same - shut up.

"The fact remains that you were distracted from your duties, and she is from hers. I was right all along - you two cannot be together."

"I - told - you -"" Leo said angrily to Zola, his teeth clenched. "If I have to, I will fall from grace."

"Please, Leo, hold out a little longer." Zola said quietly.

"What for? He's not going to change his mind!" Leo spat.

"Leo..." Zola took Leo's arm and led him away from the others. "Try to stay calm, you are not helping your case."

"What case? He's already decided!"

"No, Leo, we have to vote on it... this is all part of the test." Zola said quietly. "This is Piper's test."

"What? I - I don't understand."

"This was all Odin's idea, and unfortunately, the other elders agreed to it... We... we sent that demon."

"What! You sent a demon to attack them? As if they don't get enough!" Leo snapped, although careful to keep his voice as low as Zola's.

"Yes." Zola said, his tone clearly stating it shamed him. "To test you ... to test how you'd react -"

"Wait, what about the demon that attacked Miranda?"

"That one too - don't worry, we wouldn't have let her die." Zola added quickly. "Anyway, you failed your test. Now Piper has to save an innocent, and if she does we can vote on whether or not you stay her whitelighter. If she fails... you will lose the sisters as your charges."

"You have to tell her." Leo said quickly and desperately. "She's too mad - I know her, she won't do it. She's more likely to quit magic. Zola you have to warn her."

"I can't... They're watching them."

"There must be a way..."

"I think I have and idea. Leo, the demon that killed you. Do you know its name?" Leo shook his head. "Well it's a good job I do. If I can convince the others to use that demon as our bait for Piper, do you think she'd go after it, in revenge for you?"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess... Could you do it?"

"I will try. In the meantime, Leo, I suggest you see to your other charges... I will call you as soon as I know anything." With a reluctant nod, Leo orbed out.

----

"No, Prue, you listen to me!" Piper yelled. "We are not doing anything until we get him back -"

Behind her, Phoebe gasped.

"See, Piper? Even Phoebe thinks -"

"She's having a premonition." Paige cut in. "She doesn't think anything.

"Oh - well -"

"I don't care what it is." Piper said, as Phoebe opened her eyes. "I'm not doing it."

"What did you see?" Prue said, ignoring Piper.

"I saw... a girl, a young girl, about Paige's age. And - a demon attacking her."

"Which demon?" Prue asked quickly.

"Ah ... it was the same demon that killed Leo." Phoebe mumbled.

"What?" It was Piper who spoke, shock and fear mingled in her face as she whipped her head round to Phoebe. "The - the same one? Are you sure?"

"Yes." Phoebe said. "It was him, Piper, he was killing the little girl."

Piper sank into a nearby chair, suddenly dizzy, unsure what to do. To think of going out and saving an innocent after what they did was against everything she had just said, everything she had promised herself in the short time since he had gone. But to let that demon take another life, another young life, when Leo's blood still stained his hands was something she couldn't think about. Something she wouldn't think about.

"So, what do you want to do?" Prue challenged.

Piper closed her eyes, put her head in her hands. _Leo, Leo, what should I do? _

No reply came to her, but a memory did. One of when she was younger, ten or eleven. Prue and one of her friends had taken her and Leo to a nearby sweet-shop, and while Prue was out of ear shot her friend had dared Piper to steal something. She had thought it funny because Piper was the classical good girl, and she expected her to refuse. She'd even laughed, and that had made Piper angry. She'd picked up a bar of chocolate, then wrestled with her conscience. Grams had always told her stealing was bad. So when she realised Leo was right next to her, she asked him what to do. He had simply replied, Do the right thing. 

She had put the chocolate back, and told Prue. She never did see that girl around again.

Leo's words came back to her now, in the present. _Do the right thing._

"We've got to save her." Piper said, standing up. "We can't let an innocent die." Her "especially by the same demon that killed Leo" was silent, but her sisters knew it was there. 

"Then I'll start scrying." Phoebe siad quickly, jumping up and moving towards the map.

"I'll help." Paige said, following her.

"What about a spell?" Prue asked.

"You and Piper can write one." Phoebe said. "Your turn."

"Actually, I sorta have one." Piper confessed. "It might need some work but I... wrote it after the funeral..."

"OK, go get it." Prue said. Piper hesitated before leaving the room. She could do this. No problem. She returned a few seconds later, a folded piece of paper clasped in her hand.

"I don't know if it's any good..." She murmured. "I never wrote a spell before." She held it out to Prue, who took it and unfolded it, reading it quickly.

"It's... It's good, Piper. It'll work."

"We think we've found the demon." Phoebe said eventually. "Is the spell ready?"

"Yes, lets go." Prue nodded quickly. They moved into the centre of the room, gripped hands and dissolved into tiny orbs.

The first thing Piper noticed once they'd materialised was the screams ringing in her ears. Turning, she saw a young girl stood with her back to the wall, her hands at her face to protect herself as the demon in front of her threw fireballs at her, one after the other, laughing at her screams. He didn't seem to be interested in killing her, not yet. For now all he wanted was to hear her scream, see her cry.

It was the same demon who killed Leo. The demon that had taken her whole world away from her. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have all these emotions raging through her all the time. She would be happy, normal, and she would still have Leo.

As she looked at him, she felt sudden anger, and she threw her hands up, even though she knew she couldn't blow him up, and caused him to fly into a nearby wall. Prue, Phoebe and Paige ran to the girl, who had sank to the floor, sobbing. Piper stayed where she was, her eyes on the demon, who was getting to his feet. She allowed him to regain his balance before repeating the gesture, sending him flying again, higher this time. While she was doing so, her sisters were helping the girl to her feet, talking to her quickly.

"Come for your revenge, then?" The demon smirked, taking longer to get up this time.

"Actually, yes." Piper said, blasting him yet again. She didn't know how many times she did it after that, five, ten maybe more. All she knew was that this demon was the root of all her pain. Eventually, she felt Prue's hand on her arm, and she turned to look at her sister as the demon landed on the floor.

"Come on, Piper, lets get this over with." Prue said sympathetically, and Piper reluctantly lowered her arms. Her sisters grouped around her, holding the notepaper up to read from, but Piper kept her eyes on the demon. She knew the words by heart, they had been in her head long enough before she had written them down, determined that this moment would come when she was strong enough.

"_Hear these words, hear the rhyme,_

_In this day, and in this time, _

_The pain I feel I now share,_

_As I vanquish you through the air,_

_You took his life without cause,_

_Now with these words I take yours_."

While writing the spell Piper had intended the vanquish to be painful, and it looked like she'd succeeded. His eyes bulged, he clutched his throat like he couldn't breath, and as the flames started licking his feet, then his legs, working their way higher, dancing around him, he screamed. She could feel the heat from where they stood, and see his pain... She had never felt so satisfied with a demons vanquish before. She'd never really thought about how much pain they cause, not just to their victims, but to the people close to them, and it seemed right to her that they should pay. 

She waited until every trace of him had vanished, and stared at the spot a few seconds after, as though he might jump up from the ground. But he didn't and when Prue murmured "Come on, lets go" Piper turned and slowly started to walk.

-----

"What happened to the girl?" Piper asked on the journey home. She felt happier than she had since it had happened, she'd gotten my revenge and yet... she was still angry. She just wasn't sure who with.

"She only lived a few houses away. We took orbed her home while you were... ah, keeping the demon busy." Prue told her. "Her mum is a witch, and she thinks the demon took her daughter as revenge for something."

"Oh. OK." Piper murmured.

Back in the manor, Piper followed the others to the attic. Phoebe and Paige picked up the book, Prue started clearing the potion stuff away, and she sat on a chair, thinking.

"Piper?" Prue said after a while. "I'm sorry if I upset you, earlier on. It's not Leo's fault, I know that. I'm going to help you get him back .And if you want to boycott magic for a while, I'm right behind you."

Piper listened to the "me too"s that followed, then smiled at her sisters.

"Thank you... but... if we refuse to help the innocents, then who will?" Piper said softly. "Whether we like it or not, we're the ones who are supposed to help them, and it's not their fault the elders took Leo... I'd sort of forgotten what's important, and I'm glad we saved that little girl. She didn't deserve to die, just because Leo isn't here... And I'm sure that if we're meant to be together - which we are - then he'll be back."

"True love conquers all." Prue smiled, half-joking.

"Yeah..." Piper murmured.

----

"She passed." Zola smiled, as Leo let out a loud "Yes!"

"Only because of who the demon was!" Odin protested. "You didn't tell us it was the same demon."

"Nevertheless they saved the innocent - and you heard what Piper said. She's going to carry on saving them, even after what we did." The female elder said firmly.

"But -"

"We'll put it to the vote." Another said. "All those in favour of returning Leo to the Charmed Ones..."


	8. Never Alone

Chapter 8 - Never Alone

Piper finished putting the last of the ingredients away, and turned back to her sisters. "All done." She smiled brightly.

"Great. OK." Prue nodded. Piper knew it was because she was so cheery, but Piper wouldn't allow herself to think Leo might not be back... Wouldn't allow herself to fall apart...

Paige made a noise half-way between a yelp and a cheer as bright white lights lit up the corner. White orbs to be exact. Piper held her breath, hardly daring to believe... and there he was, smiling widely, alight with happiness, moving towards her... As her sisters cheered, Piper wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, assuring herself her was really here. He was back, and at that moment, nothing else mattered.

----

The next few days passed far from smoothly. Despite her joy at having Leo back, Piper somehow managed to start several small arguments, getting angry at Leo for the least little thing.

"I told you to tell me when you're just going to orb out and leave!" Piper was yelling.

"_I_ told _you _that when a charge needs me I don't have the time to find you and let you know!" Leo replied. This, it seemed, was Piper's favourite argument, and it always went the same way.

"But when I'm looking all over the house for you, what am I supposed to think?"

"That I'm off doing my job!" Leo snapped.

"Job, right, that's what they tell you it is. But tell me, Leo, how much does this "Job" actually pay?"

"Piper, we've been through this." He cried.

"Yes, it pays nothing. So its not actually a job, it is?"

"No, it's a duty, it's who I am, now, I'm a whitelighter."

"I know what you are!" Piper yelled. At this point, she usually stormed off, but before she could he started talking again.

"Why don't you admit why you're really so mad at me?" He snapped. "Its not because I'm orbing out, or because I don't get paid, or even because I leave wet towels on the bathroom floor, is it?"

"Oh, isn't it? Why don't you tell me why I'm mad at you then, Leo?" Piper yelled.

"OK, how about this? You're mad because even though I'm back, I still left you." He said, his voice still raised, but his anger gone. "You think I abandoned you, that I left without fighting it, that I didn't care enough to stay. That if I did it once then I'll do it again."

"Well, will you?" She said angrily. "You left me, you promised you never would but you did. What if you leave, if you go again? What if you meet someone else while you're orbing all over he place? How do I know you even want me anymore?" Her voice cracked. "You left me... how do I know you wont do it again?"

"I didn't want to leave." He said quietly. "I had to, I was meant to, meant to die, to become a whitelighter... But I'm meant to be with you, I promise you I'll never leave you, ever again." He wrapped his arms around her and held her. "OK? Are you OK? Do you trust me?"

"Yes..."

"I promise you, nothing can keep me away from you, ever."

"You promise?" She whispered.

"I promise." He said. Then, after a long pause, he muttered two more words: "Marry me."

She drew back from him so fast she almost fell. "What?"

"Marry me." He repeated, beaming at her. "I love you, I want to marry you. Will you?"

"I... I... Leo, I want to, but... I'm only seventeen."

"So? Does it matter? We love each other, we want to spend the rest of our lives together... what's the problem?"

"I... well, if your only doing this to reassure me, then - then - do you really want to marry me?"

"Yes, you know I wouldn't have asked if I didn't. I wouldn't do it just to prove we can stay together... my parents did that and look waht happened. I'm asking you because I love you."

She chewed her lip, looking at him intently.

"You're sure?" She whispered. "You really do?"

"Yes." One word, that was all, but she believed him.

"Then... then ask me again."

"Piper Halliwell, will you marry me?" He asked.

"Yes."


	9. Dreams Come True

OK guys, this is the second to last chapter.

Chapter 9 - Dreams Come True

She wasn't sure what woke her up. But the second she did, she felt immensely happy. She opened her eyes just in time to see faint white lights disappear.

"Leo?" She murmured, but he had gone. On her bed were rose petals, loads of them. Piper laughed, threw a handful into the air. Today was her wedding day.

"Are you awake?" Phoebe's voice said brightly, and looking up Piper saw her younger sisters in the doorway.

"Yup."

"Happy wedding day." Paige said brightly, and the too of them joined her on he bed, playing with the rose petals. A few seconds later, Prue joined them.

"Oh, wow." She said, looking at the petals. "Did Leo...?"

"Yes." Piper beamed. She couldn't help it, the smile on her face wouldn't fade. And she didn't want it too.

"Congratulations." Prue said. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you." Piper replied. It all felt so surreal...

"We've run you a bath." Phoebe announced. "And Piper? Don't worry about _anything._ We have it all under control, so you just relax."

"I will do." Piper promised. Right now, she was more relaxed than she ever had been. And that blissed out feeling stayed with her, all through her bath, and getting ready, and it intensified when her mother arrived. She'd been expecting it - Patty was going to perform the ceremony. But she still couldn't get over the shock of seeing her mother again, after all these years...

"Hiya sweetie." Patty said softly. Piper dare not speak, scared that Patty might disappear. "I'm not going anywhere." She added, as though sensing Piper's thoughts.

"Mum..." Piper breathed, then fell into her mother's arms.

"Mum?" Prue, Phoebe and Paige were stood in the doorway, their expression's like Piper's was.

"You're actually here." Paige murmured.

----

"Do you think they're nearly ready?" Leo asked Andy nervously. Everything else was, except the girls.

"Yes, they are." Patty said, coming quickly down the steps. "Mum, they're ready for you." She said to Penny.

"Right." Penny smiled at her daughter, then walked up the stairs, slowly, her age and recent health problems suddenly apparent.

"Hello, Leo, dear." Patty smiled.

"Hi, Patty." Leo said. For a while, when he was younger, he'd thought of Patty as his mother, too.

"Andy." Patty nodded at her other daughter's boyfriend, who was Leo's best man. The too of them had sort of grown up together after all, always in the manor with the girls. Plus, there was a limit to the people they could have at a wedding where the groom was technically dead.

His mother wasn't here, the elders had refused his request. But Piper had found a way around that - Ally Wyatt, who had moved away a short while ago, was going to receive a copy of their wedding photos in the post with a letter from her late son.

"They're coming." Patty said softly, and Leo turned to see his soon-to-be sisters-in-law walk down the stairs, wearing the bridesmaid dresses Piper had picked out. And then...

----

"Are you ready?" Grams asked Piper. Nodding, Piper reached for her flowers. Up close, her grandmother looked frail, and Piper made a mental note to make an appointment with Grams' doctor to get a check-up.

"Yes." Piper said. Arm in arm with her grams, she made her way towards the stairs. He watched her, taking in every detail of the dress he was seeing for the first time. She smiled widely at him as she reached the bottom of the stairs, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. And suddenly she was standing next to him, and he had to look at Patty.

"We are gathered here today to unite two souls as one. Do you, Leo Wyatt, and Piper Halliwell, join us here of your own free will to acknowledge the eternal bond shared by both of you?"

"I do." They said simultaneously.

"You may face each other, join hands." Patty said, slightly tearful. They did so, and he gazed into her eyes, almost missing Patty's next words. "Leo, you may recite your vows.

He'd barely had to think about what he was going to say, the words had come so easily.

"Piper, through all the tears and struggles, I always knew in my heart that we'd make it here. I promised you I would never leave you, and I stand by that promise. I swear to love and respect you from this point forward as your husband, as my wife, my lover, my friend, and my soul mate. All I am is yours." He told her.

"Piper..." Patty said, silently crying now.

"Leo, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, you were always by my side, always there for me, and I was afraid that you were too good to be true, that maybe I didn't deserve someone so pure and beautiful and loving as you are. But here we are surrounded by the people that I love the most and I feel so proud, and so blessed to be your wife. Leo, I was born to love you and I always will."

"Here before witnesses, Leo and Piper have sworn their vows towards each other. With this cord, I bind them to those vows." Patty said, and a rope was loosely tied around their hands.

Together, they recited the words they'd learned, soon after they had decided to marry the Wiccan way.

"Heart to thee, body to thee, always and forever, so mote it be." They said, their voice matched perfectly.

"So mote it be." Everyone else repeated.

"You may kiss the bride." Patty whispered, and Leo did. Piper knew, in that instant, that he never would leave her, that whatever life threw at them, they could get threw it, together. Just like they always had.

----

**Yay! So the next chapter, the last, is just an epilogue, and I'll try to get that up later today, cos I go on holiday tomorrow. If not, it'll be up in a week.**


	10. Epilogue

Well, here it is the very last chapter...

Chapter 10 - Epilogue

Leo Wyatt walked out of the large wooden door that had appeared at the top of the manor's stairs, pulling his robes over his head as he did so, revealing the normal clothes he had on underneath. As soon as he closed the door behind him, it vanished, and he walked down the stairs.

"I'm home!" He called loudly.

"Daddy!" Five-year-old Melinda, his youngest child, hurtled towards him, and he swung her into her air.

"Hiya dad." Seven year old Chris said from the conservetory, where the sound of a computer game was blaring from.

"Hi dad." Wyatt, the oldest at eight, echoed.

"Hi boys." Leo said, carrying Melinda into the conservetory. "Where's your mother?"

"Kitchen." Wyatt said, and then whooped as he blasted an alien on the game. Still carrying his daughter, Leo headed towards the kitchen.

"Hi honey." He said, setting Melinda on the floor.

"Hiya." Piper said, turning to face him.

Leo could hardly believe ten years had passed since their wedding day. Ten years, two months and four days. The time in which so much had happened and here they were, still as strong and in love as they were that day.

It was hard to believe it had been just five years since he'd clipped his wings, became mortal. It had been a few months before Grams had died, right after Melinda was born. He'd decided then, that his family needed him the most, and now he couldn't have been happier. Teaching at magic school was far less time consuming as being a whitelighter.

The years had brought them indescribably happiness - with the births of their three twice-blessed children, and sorrow, too, with the death of Penny, and his mother. There had been attacks on each of their lives, and that of their children, but for now things had clamed down, and they could just be happy.

Piper sometimes found it hard to believe what she had - at just 27 she was married to the guy she loved, she had the restaurant of her dreams and most of all three perfect children. She knew they were young, had been young when they married, and had their kids, and sure, sometimes it had been hard, but they had each other, and loving each other gave then the strength and determination they needed.

"Where's the rest of the gang?" Leo asked, moving forward and looking in the pans simmering on the stove.

"All out." Piper replied. "Don't ask me where, it's a million different places I can't remember. I think Prue said dinner with Andy's parents, but the rest…" She didn't need to finish, he knew what she was trying to say, and she knew he knew. They always had been able to understand each other, from the time when the loss of a baby tooth had made Leo make a whistling sound when he spoke, making his words harder to distinguish, and the time she'd accidentally put her knee through a glass pane of a door, and spoke through clenched teeth and howls of pain as he tried to pick the bits of glass out.

"OK." Leo replied. "Nearly ready?"

"Yeah. Tell the boys to switch the game off will you?"

"'Kay." Leo replied, and gave her a swift kiss before turning away. Piper had to smile... she still got butterflies when he did that. Sometimes she still felt like that love-sick teenager again. The one that married and grew up and had kids before anyone else her age she knew. The one that wouldn't change a second of it. As her boys and Leo walked in., Piper looked into her husbands eyes and smiled. He was still her best friend, through everything. Nothing would ever change that. But he was more than that, more than a husband, a lover, a father. So much more.

They both smiled as, although neither knew it, the same old line drifted into their heads; _and they lived happily ever after..._

**The end. I dunno if that chapter is any good, I wrote the first half last Friday before I left and I forgot most of what I was going to write. But it's a ending all the same, and it'll do, right?**


End file.
